A Reconfigurable Sleeping Bag System

ABSTRACT

A reconfigurable sleeping bag system including a selection of bags. One bag is selected from the selection of bags to be the primary sleeping bag into which the person is placed. Each bag in the system has both primary releasable fastening means and secondary complimentary releasable fastening means. The primary releasable fastening means enables the primary sleeping bag to be opened or closed by the user, and the secondary complimentary releasable fastening means enables an optional secondary bag, used in the system, to be releasably attached to the primary sleeping bag.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to infant sleeping systems, and in particular tosleeping bag systems that incorporate a selection of bags that can becombined by a care giver to adjust the thermal insulance properties ofthe system to best suit ambient temperature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Infant sleeping bags differ from non-infant sleeping bags primarily dueto the fact that they are designed to be used indoors. Infant sleepingbags are generally constructed with fitted armhole and neck openings,and are intended to replace blankets and sheets.

There are a number of advantages of using infant sleeping bags inpreference to blankets and sheets. Firstly babies and infants controltheir body temperature mainly through their face. By placing infants ina sleeping bag, the care giver has greater assurance that the face andhead of the infant remains uncovered during sleep, thereby eliminatingthe dangers of overheating and suffocation, and reducing the risk ofsudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI).

Another advantage is that by placing the infant in a sleeping bag, thecare giver reduces the risk that the infant will kick the blankets andsheets off their body during their sleep, thereby exposing the infant tothe cold, and causing the infant to wake up.

In yet another advantage, because a sleeping bag encloses the infant'slegs, it reduces the likelihood that the baby will be able to roll overonto its stomach, which is recognized as a high risk sleep position, andhas been associated with SUDI.

Finally, by enclosing the infant in a sleeping bag, the care giverreduces the risk that the child's legs may become entangled in the railsof the cot they are sleeping in.

Commonly available infant sleeping bags suffer from the problem thattheir thermal insulance is not adjustable as ambient temperature changesover time. Most infant sleeping bag systems comprise just one bag and ifthe thermal insulance properties of that particular bag is notsufficient to provide the infant with comfort against the ambienttemperature, then the care giver needs to supplement the sleeping bag'sthermal insulance by adding additional blankets, which is notrecommended by pediatric health care professionals. No one bag is ableto provide comfort to the infant over all ambient temperaturesexperienced throughout the night, or due to seasonal variations.Alternatively, the care giver is required to purchase a variety of bagswith different thermal insulance properties to match the variations inambient temperature experienced during the night due to seasonalchanges.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an infant sleepingbag system that at least ameliorates the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention is a reconfigurable sleeping bagsystem including a selection of bags. One bag is selected from theselection of bags to be the primary sleeping bag into which the personis placed. Each bag in the system has both primary releasable fasteningmeans and secondary complimentary releasable fastening means. Theprimary releasable fastening means enables the primary sleeping bag tobe opened or closed by the user, and the secondary complimentaryreleasable fastening means enables an optional secondary bag, used inthe system, to be releasably attached to the primary sleeping bag.

Preferably the primary bag is inserted into the secondary bag, and whenthe primary bag is inserted correctly, the secondary complimentaryreleasable fastening means of the primary bag substantially align withthe primary releasable fastening means of the secondary bag.

Preferably a tertiary bag can be selected from the selection of bags,and is capable of having the releasably fastened together primary andsecondary bags inserted within it.

When the releasably fastened primary and secondary bags are correctlyinserted within the tertiary bag, the complimentary releasable fasteningmeans of the secondary bag substantially align with the primaryreleasable fastening means of the tertiary bag.

Preferably the selection of bags includes bags that have differentthermal insulance properties so that the overall thermal insulanceprovided to the person enclosed within the sleeping bag system can bevaried by adding or removing bags to/from the system as the ambienttemperature in the vicinity of the person varies over time.

Alternatively, the selection of bags includes bags that all have thesame thermal insulance properties, so that the overall thermal insulanceprovided to the person enclosed within the sleeping bag system can bevaried by adding or removing bags to/from the system as the ambienttemperature in the vicinity of the person varies over time.

Preferably for each bag in the selection of bags, the primary releasablefastening means is located on the front of the bag towards the end ofthe bag nearest to the person's head, and the secondary complimentaryreleasable fastening means are located at each side of the primaryreleasable fastening means.

Preferably the primary releasable fastening means and the secondarycomplimentary releasable fastening means of each bag in the selection ofbags is a zipper.

Preferably the sleeping bag system can be reconfigured by the additionor removal of a secondary and/or tertiary bag from the system withoutrequiring the primary bag to be opened, thereby exposing the personoccupying the sleeping bag system to the cold.

Preferably the person can be placed in, or removed from, the system byoperation of the primary releasable fastening means of the primary bagonly regardless of whether there is a secondary or tertiary bag in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is top view of the present invention showing a primary bagreleasably fastened to a secondary bag.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the releasable fastener arrangement of thepresent invention that shows detail of both the primary releasablefastening means and secondary complimentary releasable fastening means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning firstly to FIG. 1, we are shown a reconfigurable infant sleepingbag system 1 that includes a plurality of sleeping bags. Ideally eachbag in the selection of sleeping bags has a different thermal insulancerating. In this example two bags are shown. The primary bag 3 is theinner bag as shown, and the secondary bag 5 is the outer bag. Theprimary bag 3 is substantially wholly inserted inside the secondary bag5, and the dotted outline shows the extent of the primary bag inrelation to the secondary bag.

Each bag has a primary releasable fastening means and a secondarycomplimentary releasable fastening means which in this example are shownas zippers. To assist in clarifying the unique fastening arrangement,(as best shown in FIG. 2), the primary releasable fastening means forthe primary bag is shown as 7, and the corresponding primary fasteningmeans for the secondary bag is shown as 7′, and the secondarycomplimentary releasable fastening means for the primary bag is shown as9, and the complimentary releasable fastening means for the secondarybag is shown as 9′.

Turning to FIG. 2, we are shown more detail of the fastening arrangementof the present invention. As shown, the primary bag 3 can always beopened and closed via the primary releasable fastening means 7. Thismakes it easy to open or close the sleeping bag system to allow aninfant to either be placed into or removed from the system regardless ofthe presence of a secondary or even tertiary bag.

As can be seen, when a bag is used as a primary bag, then the primaryreleasable fastener means closes upon itself, however when a bag is usedas a secondary or tertiary bag, then the primary releasable fastenermeans interengages with the respective secondary complimentaryreleasable fastening means of the bag inserted within it.

In one embodiment, at least some of the bags in the selection of bagsmay each have a different thermal insulance rating. This allows a caregiver such as a parent to add or subtract bags from the system to tailorthe infant's warmth and comfort to match the prevailing ambienttemperature in the infant's vicinity, and to account for how the infantis dressed for sleep on that particular occasion.

Alternatively, all the bags in the selection of bags have the sameinsulance rating.

Each bag in the selection of bags is capable of substantially whollycontaining any of the other bags in the selection of bags as shown inFIG. 1. The fastening means for each bag is arranged so that when a bag,or an attached pair of bags are inserted into it, and properlyorientated, the primary releasable fastening means of the bag alignswith the secondary complimentary releasable fastening means of the bagor attached pair of bags that are inserted into it.

Thermal insulance is often denoted as a “tog” unit. As a general guide,the following is a table that matches ambient temperature to tog ratingfor infant sleeping bags:

-   -   0.5 tog is suitable for ambient temperatures of approx. 24°        C.-27° C.    -   1.0 tog is suitable for ambient temperatures of approx. 20°        C.-24° C.    -   2.5 tog is suitable for ambient temperatures of approx. 16°        C.-20° C.    -   3.5 tog is suitable for ambient temperatures of approx. 14°        C.-18° C.

Ambient temperature can vary at different times of the day or night, andalso as the seasons change. By using the sleeping bag system that has aselection of bags with a variety of tog ratings, the care giver cancombine multiple bags and releasably fasten them together to provide theinfant with a combined sleeping bag that has a combined tog rating thatmaximizes the infant's comfort in relation to the ambient temperature.

Optionally, different bags can be fabricated out of different materials.For example, one bag in the selection of bags can have an inside surfaceof knitted material, and another bag in the selection of bags can havean inside surface of woven material.

Knitted fabrics are softer and more breathable than woven fabrics, butthey stretch more than woven fabrics. So while the inside surface of theknitted material may be preferable to babies, inside surface with wovenmaterial might be more suitable for infants who kick and move a lot.Additionally, a bag from the selection of bags can be fabricated with aninside surface of wool. This allows infants to derive a benefit from themoisture wicking and odour control benefits of wool over othermaterials.

While the above description includes the preferred embodiments of theinvention, it is to be understood that many variations, alterations,modifications and/or additions may be introduced into the constructionsand arrangements of parts previously described without departing fromthe essential features or the spirit or ambit of the invention.

It will be also understood that where the word “comprise”, andvariations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, are used in thisspecification, unless the context requires otherwise such use isintended to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or features but isnot to be taken as excluding the presence of other feature or features.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and shouldnot be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that suchprior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

1. A reconfigurable sleeping bag system including a selection of bags,wherein one bag is selected from the selection of bags to be the primarysleeping bag into which the person is placed, each bag in the systemhaving both primary releasable fastening means and secondarycomplimentary releasable fastening means, wherein the primary releasablefastening means enables the primary sleeping bag to be opened or closedby the user, and the secondary complimentary releasable fastening meansenables an optional secondary bag, used in the system, to be releasablyattached to the primary sleeping bag.
 2. A reconfigurable sleeping bagsystem as claimed in claim 1 wherein the primary bag is inserted intothe secondary bag, and when the primary bag is inserted correctly, thesecondary complimentary releasable fastening means of the primary bagsubstantially align with the primary releasable fastening means of thesecondary bag.
 3. A reconfigurable sleeping bag system as claimed inclaim 2 wherein a tertiary bag can be selected from the selection ofbags, and is capable of having the releasably fastened together primaryand secondary bags inserted within it, and when the releasably fastenedprimary and secondary bags are correctly inserted within the tertiarybag, the complimentary releasable fastening means of the secondary bagsubstantially align with the primary releasable fastening means of thetertiary bag.
 4. A reconfigurable sleeping bag system as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the selection of bags includes bags that have differentthermal insulance properties with respect to one another, so that theoverall thermal insulance provided to the person enclosed within thesleeping bag system can be varied by adding or removing bags to or fromthe system as the ambient temperature in the vicinity of the personvaries over time.
 5. A reconfigurable infant sleeping bag system asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the selection of bags includes bags that allhave the same thermal insulance properties, so that the overall thermalinsulance provided to the person enclosed within the sleeping bag systemcan be varied by adding or removing bags to or from the system, as theambient temperature in the vicinity of the person varies over time.
 6. Areconfigurable sleeping bag system as claimed in claim 1 wherein foreach bag in the selection of bags, the primary releasable fasteningmeans is located on the front of the bag towards the end of the bagnearest to the person's head, and the secondary complimentary releasablefastening means are located at each side of the primary releasablefastening means.
 7. A reconfigurable sleeping bag system as claimed inclaim 6 wherein the primary releasable fastening means and the secondarycomplimentary releasable fastening means of each bag in the selection ofbags is a zipper.
 8. A reconfigurable sleeping bag system as claimed inclaim 7 wherein the sleeping bag system can be reconfigured by theaddition or removal of a secondary or tertiary bag from the systemwithout requiring the primary bag to be opened, thereby exposing theperson occupying the sleeping bag system to the cold.
 9. Areconfigurable sleeping bag system as claimed in claim 8 wherein theperson can be placed in, or removed from, the system by operation of theprimary releasable fastening means of the primary bag only, regardlessof whether there is a secondary or tertiary bag in use.